“Hi, today is Martin Luther King’s birthday and I cannot help but ask the question, is it time that people of color recognize how much power influence we have amassed that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere. I ask the question, have we now come to a new time and place where we recognize that we can no longer beg for the love, acknowledgement or respect of any group – I’m simply asking a question. Here’s what I believe. The Academy has the right to acknowledge whomever they choose, to invite whomever they choose and now I think it’s our responsibility now to make the change. Maybe it’s time we pull back our resources and put them back into our communities and into our programs and we make programs for ourselves that acknowledge us in ways we see fit that are just as good as the so-called ‘mainstream’ ones. I don’t know. Here’s what I’d do. Begging for acknowledgement and asking diminishes dignity and diminishes power and we are a dignified people and powerful. Let’s not forget it. So, let’s let the Academy do them, with all grace and love, and let’s do us differently. I got nothing but love. And [host] Chris [Rock], I will not be at the Academy Awards and I won’t be watching, but I can’t think of a better man to do the job at hand this year than you my friend. Good luck. And to the rest of you, nothing but love, always.” (Facebook)

“I’m not pissed. I’m not surprised. It’s the Oscars, they do what they do,” Cube said. “The people loved the movie, the people supported the movie, it was No. 1 at the box office, over $200 million worldwide. I can’t be mad, you know.” (“Wendy Williams”)

It’s amazing … not only did the movie get overlooked for best pic, only 8 movies were nominated and there could have been 10, but clearly they didn’t think the biopic passed muster. The Academy was under a microscope for this one … a lot of people thought this would clearly show if they were bias against black movies. (TMZ)